ANDONI Iraola said Lloyd Kelly’s pace was a key factor in why he selected him over Marcos Senesi to face Tottenham Hotspur.

Senesi was a surprise omission from the starting XI, dropped to the bench with Kelly coming in for his first start of the campaign, having missed the start of the season through injury.

The former Bristol City man completed 90 minutes as Cherries were beaten 2-0 by Spurs, partnering Illia Zabarnyi in the centre of defence.

Asked what his thinking was behind making that switch, Iraola told the Daily Echo: “I thought before the game that they will demand a lot of speed from us there in our back-line, attacking the spaces.

“Especially with (Dejan) Kulusevski and Son (Heung-min) making these kind of runs and (James) Maddison from behind.

“I think Lloyd can give us this physicality and he can help us also when we have the ball.

“It is a matter of at the moment I see both Kelly and Marcos as sometimes starting together. That will be my decision making.”

Cherries have two fixtures remaining ahead of the international break.

They travel to Swansea City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, before going to Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.